Cotton-seed press.



W. MCC. NEALE.

coTToN sEEo PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPTz 3, i914.

f Patented Sept. 7, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l. *Y 1i A TTOR/VEYS W. MCC. NEALE.

COTTON SEED PRESS.

APPucATIoN FILED sEPT;3.1914.

1,153,103. Pmntedsept. 7, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.'

A jrg.

A TTURNEVS w. MCC. NEALE. COTTON ASEED PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.3.1`914.'

Patented Sept. 7, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

I/I//T/VESSES I/I/I/E/I/O/i MJ MM l f//ZMYMQMZ i /Qfwgm n I BY @www fWILLIAM IVICCORMICK NEALE, OF GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA.

COTTON-SEED PRESS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 7, 1915.

Application filed September 3, 1914. Serial No. 859,990.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM MCC. NEALE, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Greenville, in the county of Greenville `and State ofSouth Carolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCotton-Seed Presses, ofwhich the following is a specification.

invention relates to the extraction of oil from seeds, such as cottonseeds, and one of the main objects thereof is to move said seedsthrougha gradually constricted passage continuously by the movement ofthe walls of said passage.

A further object is to provide means for adjusting said walls to anydesired degree of angularity, to correspondingly effect the degree ofinclination of the walls with respect to each other and to the passageformed thereby.

A further object is to provide walls for said passage which permit ofthorough drainage of the oil pressed from the seeds.

A further object is to provide said walls Yof such material as not toglaze the seed panying drawings form a part, in which the separate partsare designated by the same reference characters in each of the views,

and in which p Figure 1 is a central, vertical, longitudi` nal, sectiontaken through a press constructed in accordance with my presentinvention; Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3is a section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a sectiontake onthe line 4 4 of Fig. 1; Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are fragmentary views ofdifferent forms of press cloths which I may employ; and Fig. 8 is afragmentary section, enlarged, of the helical worm which I employf n Inthe drawings forming part of this application I have shown a casing orbarrel 9 having a hopper or inlet 10 at its upper side communicatingwith a hollow interior 11, and the walls of which taper forwardly andinwardly toward the outlet end 12, and I provide an oil receptacle 13beneath the said barrel having a drain pipe 14 by means of which oil maybe led to any desired or convenient point for storage.

Arranged centrally of the chamber 11 is a helical worm 15 caried by ahollow shaft 16 within which is a shaft 17 having a fluted head 18 onits inner end'and a gear 19 0n its outer end enmeshed with a gear 20carried by a power shaft 21 having a pulley 22 thereon, whereby it maybe-rotated, said power shaft 21 also carrying a gear 23 enmeshed with anidle gear 24 in turn enmeshed with a gear 25 on the hollow shaft 16 and,because of the idle gear 24, said worm 15 and fluted head 18 arereversely revolved.

The barrel 9 is provided with four longitudinally arranged slots 26, 27,28 and 29, at quadrant points, to receive'blocks 30, 31, 32, and 33,respectively, pivoted at 34, 35, 36 and 37, respectively, at their innerends, the outer ends of the blocks 30 and 32 being pivoted, at 38, tooppositely arranged pinstons 39 movable in cylinders 40 by hydraulicmeans, a pipe 41 being provided for -each cylinder, and it will be seenthat the blocks 30 and 32, as shown in Fig. 2, may be moved inwardly oroutwardly at will, the hydraulic operating means not being shown as theymay be of any desired form; the outer ends of the blocks 31 and 33, asshown in Fig. l, are each pivoted, at 42, to oppositely directed plates43 adjustable in supports 44 by means of screws 45, and it will be seenthat the blocks 31 and 33 may also be adjusted on their pivots at will,inwardly or outwardlyv of the median line of the barrel.

Arranged around each of the blocks 30 and 32 is an endless chain 46,preferably on rollers not shown, and said chains are led over suitabletautening means 47 similarly arranged around each of the blocks 31 and33 is an endlesschain 48 led over tautening means 49, all of said chainsbeing entirely independentV of each other, and of any driving means.

Arranged around each ofthe blocks 30 and 32 is a press cloth belt 50guided around a 'fixed pulley 5l and an adjustable pulley 52 whichserves to take up any slack in the belts, andv similarly arranged aroundthe blocks 31 and 33 are press cloth belts 53 guided over correspondingfixed pulleys 54 and adjustable pulleys 55, and it will be seen thatthese press cloth belts constitute the walls of the passage for themeats, as the cooked seeds are called, from the fluted head 18 to thedischarge end 12, and move with the meats as they are-forced through thepress by means of the helical worm 15, and I may form the said belts ofwireV reinforced cloth as shown in Fig. 5, of separate belts of wire andfabric as shown in Fig. 6, of separate belts of wire and fabric rivetedtogether as shown in Fig. 7, or in any other desired manner, but thewire, shown at 56 in said figures, is always on the inner side of thefabric, shown at 57, and in direct contact with the meats passed throughthe press. l l

As clearly shown at 58, Figs. 1 and 3, I provide a plurality of drainholes in the lower portion of the barrel 9 to permit the escape of theextracted oils, said drains leading to the receptacle 13, and I mayalso, if

desired, drill the links of the side and bottom chains to assist thisresult, or other means may be provided for leading olf said oils fromthe belts 50 and 53.

Properly cooked seeds, with or withouta substance for increasinginternal friction 1n the meats, such `as cracked corn, wheat, or oats,are fed steadily into the hopper 10 to the helical worm 15 which,because of its relatively short pitch of thread, forces the meatsforwardly through the barrel under constantly increasing pressure, dueto the inclination of the blocks 30 and 32, to the luted head 18 whichis revolving in a direction opposite to that of the worm 15 and eitherfaster or slower according to the consistencyof the meats, and whichhead forces the meats toward the discharge end 12.

As the friction between the meats and the press cloth belts and chainsis greater thanv same and through the press cloth belts,

passing then to the receptacle 13 and drain pipe 14:, and this resilientresistance of the pistons 39 and cylinders 40 constitutes a factor ofsafety to the machine in the event Aof the admission of hard, foreignmatter thereto, and I may, although not shown,-

provide means for automatically regulating the pressure of the hydraulicmeans according to the consistency of the meats, although this is truein a degree without the use of any other apparatus.

The mechanical principle of the wedge is well known, andit willtherefore be seen that the pressure exerted by the worm and iluted headwill not need to be anything near that necessary to completely extractthe oil as is the case in machines of this class now known to me; hencethe internal friction of the mass of meats need not be as great as inthe other machines referred to; neither need the meats be over-cooked ormixed with a substance to increase the internal friction. a In order tosecure the best results the heat 1n the meats must be conserved, and myworm and iiuted head serve to raise the temperature of the meats if theyhad partially cooled in passing from the cooker to the press, and itwill be seen that I secure continuous operation, not interrupted for theremoval of pressed seed cakes and substitution of unpressed, as in othermachines, and the degree of pressure to which said meats are subjectedis entirely under the control of the operator, with a consequent resultin oil yield; it will also be seen that, in view of the fact that thewalls of the passage are fabric, and travel with the meats, theformation of the glaze hereinbefore referred to is impossible, and thepercentage of oil yield is very high.

In Fig. 8 I have shown a fragmentary section of the worm 15, toillustrate a wearing bead which I may employ, in order to avoidreplacing the worm, the bead 60 being removable when worn forsubstitution of a new bead.

It will thus be seen that I secure a continuous extraction of oil,between sliding walls which assist in wedging the meats into a more andmore compact mass, and through which the oils are free to pass fordrainage to a suitable receptacle; it will also be seen that the meatsare pressed forwardly into the gradually restricted passage by means ofa worm rotating in one direction, and broken up as well as fed forwardby a iiuted head rotating in the opposite direction, preferably at aspeed diHerent from that of the worm; it willalso be seen that I mayvary the tension'of the chains, or of the press cloths at will; it willalso be seen that I may vary the diameter of the passage, and theinclination of the walls thereof, at will, and under hydraulic power. v

XVhile I have described the machine as particularly applicable to cottonseeds, it will be obvious that it may be used for other purposes wherepressure is desired, and I may vary the details tov accommodate thepress to different uses, within the scope of the following claims,without departing from the spirit of my invention, or sacrifieing itsadvantages.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is zl. A press, comprising a barrel, aradially adjustable wall on each side of the interior thereof, a wormtherein, a fluted head therein, and means for actuating said worm andhead.

2. A press, comprising a barrel, a radially adjustable wall on each sideof the interior thereof, a worm therein, a fluted head therein, andmeans for actuating said worm and head in reverse directions.

' 3. A press, comprising a barrel, a radially adjustable wall onopposite sides of the interior thereof, and a porous covering for eachof said walls and movable with the material being pressed.

et. A press, comprising a barrel, a radially adjustable wall on oppositesides of the interior thereof, an endless chain movable over theinterior surface of each Wall, and a fabric belt interposed between eachchain and the material being pressed.

5. A press, comprising a barrel, a radially adjustable wall on oppositesides of the interior thereof, an endless chain movable over theinterior surface of each wall, a fabric belt interposed between eachchain and the material being pressed, and means for varying the tensionof said belts.

6. A press, comprising a barrel having a central bore and a plurality ofradial slots extending for a portion of the length thereof, a blockmovable in each slot, and a porous belt movable over each block.

7. A press, comprising a barrel having a- -two subscribing Witnesses.

WILLIAM MCCORMICK NEALE. Witnesses:

CHARLES D. BLACKWELDER, JOHN B. BRENNEN.

